Polarized Light Microscopy Digital Image Gallery

Persian Lamb Hair

Over the last few decades, a certain amount of controversy has been associated with Persian lamb. Animal rights groups have attempted to expose the inhumanity of the practices involved in obtaining the material, but many of the charges they put forward are adamantly denied by those in the industry. Activists, for instance, claim that Karakul newborns and fetuses, the pelts of which are referred to as broadtail lamb, are being slaughtered solely for their skins, which garner extremely high prices, but producers argue that the skins are only a byproduct of meat production. An investigation carried out in March 2000 by the Humane Society of the United States at a Karakul farm in Bukhara, Uzbekistan seems to support many of the claims made by animal rights groups, but the demand for Persian lamb has yet to dissipate.